"Sometimes In Advertising..."

One Million Moms: ’Hotwire is in Hot Water’ Over Ad with 2 Gay Dads

Bobby McGuire
June 12, 2014


Watch out Hotwire! Your new ad’s sassy innuendo could cost you a slew of angry Christian women customers who think any group with over 65,000 members equal a million.

Hotwire.com’s ad featuring two gay dads.

Just in time for Pride Month, American Family Association’s media watchdog group One Million Moms (OMM) is back with their first anti-gay focused write-in campaign since focusing their rage on Nabisco for a gay inclusive graham cracker ad in March.

The latest call to arms from OMM is against travel booking website Hotwire.com over an innocuous ad featuring a pair of preppyish gay dads discussing booking a hotel. The 30-second TV spot titled "Lucky Me" is part of a series of commercials launching to coincide with the redesign of Hotwire’s website.

OMM’s rant reads (verbatim):

Hotwire.com is in hot water with conservative families over their newest commercial.

Consumers should be aware of the offensive ad because there are many other travel sites to choose from if parents are warned about this indecent ad.

The commercial is about a couple going away for their anniversary while the grandparents take care of their kid for the night. But while one partner is dreaming of sleep and says, "It’s all about sleep," the other partner says disappointedly, "Not all about sleep!" The dialogue goes on to say, "For me it is." And the reply is, "Lucky me."

A commercial should not discuss what does or doesn’t happen in bed, plus the couple consists of two men. Hotwire is obviously not concerned about the message they are sending our children.

Please send Hotwire.com an email letter asking them to pull their "Lucky Me" commercial immediately. Click on link to Take Action!

The Hotwire campaign marks the first time that the Christian media watchdog group (whose numbers according to Facebook are actually a little over 65,000) has launched an anti-gay campaign since March when they went after Nabisco for a gay inclusive ad for Honey Maid Graham Crackers. The email campaign failed to sway Nabisco, who have since created two gay themed follow up ads. A similar write-in campaign from OMM in 2013 against Kraft over a suggestive print ad for its Zesty salad dressing spurred an entire second series of ads.

Hotwire joins the proud group of corporations that include JC Penney, Walt Disney Corporation, ABC, NBC, CBS, TBS, Kraft, Nabisco, Sports Illustrated and Norelco who have either been boycotted or badgered by One Million Moms.

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Thanks OMM!  

Without your hissy fit, most people might have never even noticed this ad.  It's important that we are represented in the media just as we are... Some of us are married and some of us have children and our lives are just as normal and everyday as yours.

"Fear Eats the Soul"